


The Story of a Lifetime

by nanuk_dain



Series: Drift Compatible [40]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, PBC (Post-Breach-Collapse), POV Outsider, Shatterdome fun, Team Hot Dads, curious journalist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8331625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: Naomi Sokolov gets the opportunity of a lifetime: Exclusive reporter for the interviews of the Jaeger pilots. Now that's something she wants to write about.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic actually spans a period of four days, and it begins the same day Chuck enters Raleigh's drift-dream and meets Yancy. Just so you're not confused as to what has/hasn't happened yet ^_^ I hope you enjoy it! I'll divide it in four chapters, one for each day. The story is finished, so you'll get the chapters in a reasonably quick succession. I hope you like it ^_^

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 17th 2025_

 

Stepping off the chopper is like entering another world. Just like last time.

Naomi Sokolov looks around the immense expanse that is the perimeter of the Hong Kong Shatterdome. It's not her first time in a Shatterdome, but the buildings still amaze her to the point that she can only stare. It's no different from that time in Anchorage just a few months ago.

She still can't believe that she got this job. She, the independent little journalist with no major credentials. After her piece about "Why we fight", she decided to go her own way and write what she wanted to write, just like Tendo had suggested. So she quit her job and tried to make a living as an independent journalist, mixed with some blogging on the side. It didn't work too well, but that might change now.

She's not affiliated with any specific press, which is probably part of the reason why the PPDC contacted her in the first place. She's not obliged to write what a certain media empire wants her to, she can write things how she sees them and sell them to the highest bidder, who'll either have to accept her work or she'll just go to another press agency. And they all know it, including the PPDC. For now she's the only journalist the PPDC has agreed to grant access to the pilots of Operation Pitfall, and that's the most powerful argument she has. She knows it's Tendo's doing, and she appreciates it. Greatly.

When Naomi sets foot on the concrete of the helipad, Tendo Choi is waiting for her. A petite brunette is standing next to him, and Naomi recognises her as Amanda James, the PPDC'S PR lady, who she has already dealt with during her last assignment. She's no-nonsense in the process of representing the PPDC's best interests, but she's nice enough to deal with. Naomi thinks they'll get along just fine, especially since Naomi has no interest in doing the PPDC any harm. 

Tendo greets her with warm handshake and a genuinely pleased smile and so does Ms James. They lead her into the Shatterdome and to a large meeting room that offers an impressive view of the entire harbour. Only a minute after they have sat down, the door opens again and Naomi watches the current head of the PPDC walk into the room. His gait is fast and firm, but his posture is relaxed. When he offers his hand, Naomi gets up to shake it, and she can't help her gaze wandering up and down the tall man in front of her. 

Marshal Hercules Hansen looks like he's been through the grinder. Several times. There are butterfly bandages running down the left side of his face, covering a nasty looking gash, and she can see discoloured skin in black, blue and green hues all over his face and bare lower arms where his sleeves are rolled up. The right arm above the hand she's currently shaking is covered in a cast. She can only imagine what the rest of him looks like. He must feel like hell, she can't help thinking. Still, he stands tall and actually greets her with a smile that seems genuine.

"Ms Sokolov." His handshake is strong without being crushing. "I heard good things about you from Tendo here."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Marshal Hansen." Naomi smiles and finds that he's ridiculously attractive when he returns it, despite the bruises on his face. She's only ever seen him on TV, and she always liked his rugged charms. He's even better in person, she decides.

He's so different from Marshal Pentecost that it surprises her for a moment that they're so close. It's no secret that Hansen and Pentecost are the leaders of the PPDC and that they form an unbreakable team. Yet they're nothing alike, Naomi muses. Hansen's clothes are casual and nothing like Pentecost's impeccable attire of suits and ties. His smile is easy and makes her feel welcome, he seems approachable and human where Pentecost always gave the impression of a cold, strict general who didn't even know how to smile. Naomi still somehow always liked Pentecost, maybe because he gave her the feeling that the world was in good hands with him in charge. And while Hansen is very different, she likes him just as much.

"Thank you for offering me this job." Naomi says while sitting down again along with the others.

"Don't look at me, it was Tendo's idea." Hansen replies with another one of his easy smiles. "He recommended you based on your earlier work as well as your respectful attitude. I'm sure you're well aware that this is a delicate situation with basically all of your interview partners still in the medical bay with various degrees of injuries."

"I'm aware, Marshal." Naomi inclines her head and makes sure to maintain eye contact. "It's not my intention to harm anybody in this Shatterdome. I'm here to gather information and tell the world what happened and who are the people behind the closure of the Breach."

Hansen nods, and she can't help feeling like he just tested her. It's a strange feeling, and she has no idea if she passed.

Next they discuss the necessary formalities and Ms James explains the rough schedule for the next three days as well as the general rules of her stay. Naomi is provided with living quarters here in the Shatterdome, so she a gets an ID badge that will grant her access to certain areas of the Shatterdome, and she has to sign an agreement that she won't try to gain access to restricted areas. She's fine with that, she has the feeling that she won't have to fight for cooperation on this special assignment. They contacted her, after all, and they have no interest in keeping her out of the loop - it's the reason they asked her to come here, after all. 

She also has to agree to pass her work to Ms James for reviewing before publishing anything. That's a rule she doesn't like at all, but she knows they won't budge on that, especially when the Marshal tells her that he's not willing to see the privacy of his pilots intruded on. He assures her that they're not interested in censoring her, they just want to make sure that things that are private stay private. She really wants - and let's be honest, _needs_ \- this job, so Naomi grits her teeth and signs the agreement. She can't help being curious about how much - an which - information she'll be allowed to pass on. If it's really just about the privacy of the pilots, she won't have any problems. She's not a gossip reporter, after all. She's here for the serious stuff.

"Will I be able to talk to Marshal Pentecost, too?" Naomi asks once she knows who her interview subjects will be, noting that Pentecost is not on the list.

"No." Hansen's answer is unusually clipped and she's sure she doesn't imagine the shadow that passes over his face. "He's still in a coma."

"I've heard about that. It was mentioned in the news once or twice." Naomi is surprised how little information had made it out into the world, not only concerning Operation Pitfall but also the effects it had on its main players. She'll make sure to remedy that. "I thought he had woken up by now."

"Not yet." Hansen sounds firm and gives the impression that he has no doubt that Pentecost _will_ wake up again, but Naomi sees the carefully concealed worry on both Tendo's and Ms James's faces. Seems they're not so sure. It's quite obviously a sore spot, and Naomi decides to let it go for now. This is neither the place nor the time to dig into this topic. She still has a few days to address it.

It's only late afternoon, and they decide that there's enough time for her first interview, which will be with Tendo. He'll run her through the general course of events of Operation Pitfall. It's the framework for understanding what has happened, so it should come first. After Ms James and Marshal Hansen have left, Tendo takes her to LOCCENT and shows her around, then they settle at one of the unoccupied stations. Tendo explains the events that led up to the attack on the Breach and then tells her about Operation Pitfall itself. There's a surprising amount of pictures, videos and audio files from the mission, and Naomi can't help feeling her heart stop when she listens to the recording of the minutes leading up to Hansen and Pentecost triggering the payload strapped to Striker Eureka's back. The silence following the explosion makes goosebumps spread all over her body. 

It's early evening by the time her interview with Tendo is done. He shows her to her temporary quarters and invites her to meet up for dinner in the mess hall an hour later. She can tell her accommodation are typical Shatterdome quarters, plain and bare and impersonal. She's been in quite a few of those in her days as a Jaeger Fly. It's not her proudest memory.

After dinner, which is a surprisingly relaxed and cheerful affair, Naomi settles on her bed with her laptop and spends the rest of the evening sorting through her notes and the recording of the interview with Tendo. He also supplied her with access to the reports as well as pictures and the video and audio recordings from the mission to use for her article. There's a stunningly clear shot of the category five Kaiju that came through the Breach last. What was the name....? Ah, yes, Slattern. For a moment she wonders who comes up with the names for the Kaiju. She'll have to ask Tendo.

Once she's done putting together a timeline of the events, Naomi sets up a rough draft of the article. She hasn't quite decided yet what format to publish her information in. Maybe she'll stick to single post of interviews on her blog, maybe she'll turn it into a long overall article with interview excerpts that she'll offer to several newspapers. Maybe she'll turn it into a series of articles with a different theme underlying each. She won't be able to decide before tomorrow evening, when she has a better idea of what she actually has to sell.

She's already been contacted by almost every big newspapers and TV station in the world with requests for her work. Naomi smiles contently and leans back against the headboard. It feels amazing to know that they all want what she writes, that she has the choice and can pick who she wants, that she can set the price and they'll pay. This might indeed be her big breakthrough, so she has to make sure that her article - whatever form it may take - is above reproach. It has to be her best work to date. It'll be her audition, her admissions essay into the world of the big, important journalist, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place on the same day that Herc enters the drift-dream with Stacker, and Mako tries to talk some sense into Chuck and Raleigh. Just so you have the context ready ^_^ (and yes, I have an actual timeline with all those events noted in perfect order so that I don't mess things up XD)

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 18th 2025_

It's eight in the morning by the time Naomi has her second interview. It's with Dr Caitlin Lightcap, Miss Mako Mori and Marshal Hansen about the plans for the future of the PPDC. They tell her about the new Mark VI Jaegers for which the planning stage has already begun, and the small single-pilot mechas called 'Civilian Explorers' which are to serve in commercial and research functions. She learns about the risk of a new Breach popping up somewhere in the world and that the Jaeger Academy is being reopened so that humanity is prepared when the new attacks come. Naomi is impressed with the plans they've come up with and the energy that they put into realising them. The future of the PPDC alone is worth an article. Maybe she should consider the series approach, then. 

During the entire interview the recording device is running and Naomi takes additional notes of things the device can't pick up. Reading between the lines, body language, facial expression, impressions she has. And while she's interested in the actual content of the conversation, Naomi is also paying attention to the people themselves. She tries to get a read on them, to see beyond the first impression. 

First she - subtly, unobtrusively - concentrates on Dr Caitlin Lightcap. She's reserved and somehow energetic at the same time, and her enthusiasm is infectious. It comes out as soon as she talks about the new projects, beforehand she was just a quiet observer. Naomi tries to match what she sees to the image Dr Jasper Schoenfeld painted in her mind of Caitlin Lightcap, the brilliant yet depressed grey mouse that grew into a warrior, part of the first Ranger team ever. The woman in front of her doesn't seem to be either and yet both. Naomi can't help being fascinated. There's no question about Dr Lightcap's expertise on the subject of drifting, and she obviously knows what she's talking about with these future projects of the PPDC. She seems more scientists than warrior, though, and when she's not talking about her projects, she's strangely shy. 

Miss Mori on the other hand... well, she's difficult to read. Naomi is very good at reading people, it's a major part of her job, after all, but she can't quite pin down who Miss Mori really is. Fact is that she's just twenty-two years old, and yet she's not only the head of the engineering division of the entire PPDC and oversees the new Mark series as well as the Civilian Explorers, she's also a successful Jaeger pilot and an impressively skilled Ranger. She's Pentecost's daughter, and she definitely comes after him in devotion and intelligence. At first glance she may seem timid and submissive in her serene silence, but Naomi instinctively knows that's not true. When Miss Mori says something, it's clear and firm and there's no hesitation. She's sure of who she is and where she stands, and at the same time she's so utterly polite and sincere that Naomi can't help liking her. She understand a lot better now why the world took so fast to the face of the PPDC, why Miss Mori is held in such high regard by the public. 

Marshal Hansen is another fascinating person to watch. Naomi notices that he is completely comfortable being one of the team and has no urge to stand out or mark his higher rank within the group. It makes him rise another notch in Naomi's esteem. He only talks when he actually has something to say, otherwise he lets the experts take the lead. Maybe he's not so different from Pentecost after all. Not where it really counts, at least. 

Shortly after lunch, Naomi makes her way over to the medical bay. She's allowed to question the famous Ranger team of Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky, and she's really looking forward to it. She's heard a lot about them, seen them on TV obviously, but she never met them in person. 

They're even more impressive than on TV.

Aleksis Kaidonovsky is quite literally the giant he always seems to be on screen. Naomi has to crane her head back when she shakes his hand in greeting, and she can't help thinking that this man could crush her with one hand. But it's Sasha Kaidonovsky who sends shivers down her back. She's quite tall, and she's intimidating in a way that Naomi can't quite describe. She's cold and intense at the same time, and Naomi thinks that getting on her bad side is even worse than getting on Aleksis'. Naomi decides she'll just make sure not to cross either of them, that seems the wisest course of action.

Plus, they're awesome. Naomi is not above admitting that she's kind of starstruck. The Kaidonovskys are famous all over the world, after all, renowned and respected for their skills as pilots and their successful defence of the Siberian Wall. They're fearless warriors and they're the first perfect match in the history of the PPDC - in short, the stuff legends are made of. It's the first time Naomi meets a perfect match personally, and she can see what it is that fascinates people about it. Of course she heard about it - who hasn't, it's one of those mysterious, almost magical aspects of the whole Jaeger affair that stuns people into silent awe. But now that she's faced with the actual people, Naomi feels that sense of unity that encompasses them, and she might even be a bit more starstruck that she already was. 

"Is is okay if I record the conversation?" Naomi asks and holds out her dictation machine for the pilots to see once she's sitting in a chair next to Sasha's hospital bed. Aleksis gives a quick nod but doesn't say a thing. Naomi muses that it's a good thing that she stills sticks to the old-fashioned tradition of taking notes on a writing pad, because Aleksis's non-verbal communication is rather hard to record on the dictation machine.

Sasha and Aleksis are both sitting on her bed, their legs dangling from the side. Well, in Sasha's case, Aleksis is actually able to set his feet on the ground although the bed is so high up. It's rather impressive. 

Naomi asks about the events of the attack on Hong Kong and is relieved that the Rangers are rather forthcoming with information. It's mostly Sasha who replies to her questions, Aleksis only joins once in a while. When they talk about the destruction of Cherno Alpha, Naomi picks up on the tension in both pilots. Sasha's voice is carefully neutral and Naomi can't fight the impression that somehow Sasha is hovering protectively close to Aleksis, although there's no obvious outer sign for it. Both Rangers seem attentive, but not hostile. And Naomi knows what 'hostile' feels like, as a journalist, she's met with hostility all the time. 

Naomi tries to dig a little deeper, subtly though, because she's sure they will clam up otherwise. As forthcoming as they might be, Naomi can tell that this touches them on a deeply personal level, and they won't share anything if she backs them into a corner. Instead she inquires about their injuries, most of which are openly visible, and learns that defending Hong Kong almost cost both pilots their lives. She hadn't known how close a call it had been. Sure, the destruction of the Jaeger was a very good indication of how serious the fight had been, and she'd seen enough video footage of the double event to understand its ferocity. But it's not common knowledge that Sasha and Aleksis almost drowned, or that they suffered Kaiju Blue poisoning. Most people probably think they walked away from that fight mostly unharmed while the opposite is true.

Naomi can't help her gaze flickering to the cast on Aleksis's left hand again and again throughout the interview. She really wants to ask about the scribbles she can see all over his arm. It seems so out of character that a man like him would allow such cute little intimacies - especially since there's no hiding them. The cast is in plain sight, after all. And so is the prominent blue snowflake drawn on the part that covers the back of his hand, or the Chinese, Russian and English scribbles that decorate the afore white cast up to his elbow.

"May I ask how you got all those markings on your cast?" Naomi allows her curiosity to show when she finally dares to ask.

Sasha smirks in reply, Aleksis just raises an eyebrow and replies, "Don't play poker with the Wei Tang brothers."

Naomi chuckles. "I'll remember it."

***

It's late afternoon when she steps into the medical bay room of the Wei Tang brothers. Actually, it's Cheung Wei Tang's room, but Tendo told her that all brothers kind of moved into it. She finds all three brothers engaged in a game of cards - poker, if she's not mistaken - and instead of allowing her to start an official interview, they insist that she has to join the game if she wants them to talk to her. It kind of throws her off kilter, but she doesn't allow it to show and instead sits down on the chair one of the triplets vacates for her. In her mind she hears Aleksis's dark voice warning her off playing poker with the brothers. When she watches one of the brothers deal the hand she wonders if she's in trouble.

She is. She knows for sure by the time she has lost her second game and they've managed to trick her into paying for her lost games by plastering little stickers all over her recording device, which she never got to switch on in the first place.

Naomi has seen the Wei Tang brothers on TV before, but reality is even more confusing. She can't tell them apart at all from their faces, just the different injuries make them distinguishable. They also have the unhelpful habit of dressing exactly the same - admittedly, that's not too difficult with uniforms - and she avoids using names when she addresses them because she knows she's going to get it wrong. Not that they seem to mind. Naomi has the distinct feeling that they enjoy screwing with her head. They definitely have a mischievous streak a mile wide, all three of them.

Since there was no dictation machine running during the time she spent with the Weis and she couldn't really take notes while playing poker, Naomi retreats to her quarters after the meeting is over and notes down everything that happened from memory. She's surprised how much she learned from them although they'd been playing cards the entire time. 

When she looks at her dictation machine that's disfigured beyond recognition by little multicoloured stars, various promo stickers and something that looks suspiciously like a pink unicorn, she can't help wondering if they somehow tricked her after all. Aleksis was right, playing poker with the triplets wasn't the best idea. It also kind of creeps her out that they managed to put an I-love-Crimson-Typhoon sticker on her notepad, especially since she never actually took it out during the entire time she spent in their room.

Tendo meets her for dinner again, and they're joined by a few other LOCCENT personnel. The atmosphere is relaxed and Naomi enjoys the easy conversation with the people sharing the table with her. They break up around 9 pm since most people have early shifts.

Naomi makes sure that by the time she goes to bed, all notes have been transcribed and organised, all ideas and impressions are noted down, the draft has been extended and is up to date. She's nothing if not organised, it's a lesson she learned very quickly on the job. Especially when dealing with so many people and so many different interviews, it's absolutely essential to know what information came from whom. Early on in her career she made the mistake of getting things mixed up. Let's just say it's something that won't ever happen to her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy some fun time with awesome Sasha and Aleksis, and of course our three favourite troublemaker brothers? I had so much fun writing them! 
> 
> PS: Comments make me very happy - want to make me happy? *puppy dog eyes*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place the same day Raleigh and Chuck woke after making up and talk about Yancy. Enjoy ^_^

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 19th 2025_

The next day, she's scheduled a meeting with the leading scientists of the K-Science section. Naomi is very curious about what she's going to learn today, not just from a professional point of view. She has heard a lot about the K-Science section of the PPDC, but it's mostly rumours. They're an elusive lot, those scientists, but what all rumours agree on is that they are rather eccentric. If nothing else, she's sure it's at least going to be interesting.

At first she sees Dr Hermann Gottlieb, the famous maths, physics and programming genius of the K-science section, who is working on a huge blackboard close to the door when she steps into the K-science lab. She doesn't get the chance to ask him very much, he's rather reserved and clearly isn't very fond of journalists. He looks like he wants to be anywhere but in the same room with her, and she wonders what Marshal Hansen said to keep him from skipping the interview altogether. Dr Gottlieb fulfils the scientist stereotype quite nicely, from the old-fashioned clothes to the eccentric behaviour, but Naomi is a keen observer. It's part of what makes her a journalist - being observant and inquisitive are very, very important skills.

What she observes is that he mellows where it concerns his lab partner, Dr Newton Geiszler, who is supposed to be a genius in all things concerning bio-technology and -engineering. Contrary to Dr Gottlieb, he's not at all what Naomi expected. She thought he'd be the typical scientist, walking around in a white lab coat and insisting that everybody call him 'Doctor'. 

He is anything but.

The first thing she notices about him is his taste in music. It's quite difficult _not_ to notice considering that it's blaring out of a rather impressive speaker system when she first enters the lab. And it's not classical music. Not by far. Somehow she already likes him without even having exchanged a word with him.

The second thing she can't help noticing is that Newton Geiszler is covered in tattoos. _Kaiju_ tattoos. Now if that isn't unusual. Unexpected, too. He looks more like a wannabe rock star than a scientist with six doctorates under his belt. Very interesting.

The third thing that picks her interest is that he's not shy or reclusive. Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. He's eccentric, no doubt about that, but in a completely different way than Dr Gottlieb. In fact, they're such opposites that she wonders how they manage to get along at all. At first she thinks they hate each other, but it's only ten minutes into the interview that she's convinced that despite their constant bickering, they have a very deep connection. Well, the old saying about opposites attracting seems to apply here.

The fourth thing she realises pretty early on in their interview is that Dr Geiszler doesn't hate Kaiju. He's fascinated by them, and she is sure she hears Dr Gottlieb mutter the words 'Kaiju groupie' under his breath. She has to fight to keep a straight face. Those two are hilarious. 

The fifth thing Naomi has absolutely no doubt about when the interview is over is that both scientists may be a bit strange, but they are indeed geniuses. She's absolutely impressed with what they tell her about the Breach, about how Kaiju work and why they've been attacking the planet. She can't help listening in utter fascination to Dr Geiszler's enthusiastic explanations and Dr Gottlieb's dry but no less passionate reasoning. The description of their drift with the newborn Kaiju - and here she notices Dr Geiszler almost affectionately calling it 'Baby Otachi' while Dr Gottlieb just scrunches his nose in distaste - and their subsequent findings is captivating and funny at the same time. Dr Gottlieb makes her vow that she won't mention him puking in a randomly disposed debris toilet after Dr Geiszler relishes in telling the story in great detail. She promises she won't, mostly because she knows he'll never talk to her again if she does. She offers to classify it as private and therefore not necessary for her article. He definitely relaxes a bit after that.

By the time she leaves the lab, Dr Geiszler has convinced her to call him Newt and insisted that she eats dinner with him, Dr. Gottlieb - who doesn't look too fond of the idea - and a few friends of theirs that night because it's his birthday and therefore she isn't allowed to deny him. Naomi wouldn't have said no anyway, these two are too much fun to miss out on. All in all, she thinks with a content smile, that was a very informative interview and two hours well spent.

Naomi grabs a quick lunch in the mess hall before heading to the medical bay for her next interview. When she walks in, a resolute nurse stops her before she can get further than a few metres down the hallway. It's a different nurse than yesterday, she hasn't met Naomi yet, so Naomi shows her credentials and explains why she's there.

She's got permission to interview the stars of the run on the Breach, Rangers Chuck Hansen and Raleigh Becket. It's one of the things she really looked forward to ever since Tendo called her to offer her the job, but it also makes her a bit wary. She hasn't seen Raleigh in years, and not once after Yancy's death. She really doesn't want to stir up painful memories, and she's sure he'll remember her. She's the one who almost broke up the Becket team, after all. She still feels embarrassed just thinking about how she behaved back then. She was a true Jaeger Fly, no doubt about that.

Once the nurse has checked her credentials and lets her pass, Naomi makes her way through the maze of hallways towards the room Raleigh is settled in. The fact that he's still in medical care although it's been a week since Operation Pitfall tells her more about Raleigh's condition than any words could have. She doesn't think he changed so much that he suddenly prefers lazying around in a hospital bed to being active.

There's a glass panel in the door to Raleigh's room that allows her a quick peek inside before entering. She sees Raleigh sitting on his bed cross-legged, talking to somebody out of sight. Naomi's hand stops over the handle and she can't help staring at him. Raleigh looks so different from how she remembers him, and that's not just due to the obvious side-effects of his participation in Operation Pitfall. What really stands out is the maturity that surrounds him. It is a stark contrast to the cocky, confident, competitive jock she remembers. Raleigh seems more quiet than she remembers ever seeing him, somehow relaxed and almost serene. She can't help thinking that he has grown up, but not only that, he has _grown out_ of the hero persona he wore like a second skin during his first stint as a Ranger.

It's probably no surprise that he's not that guy anymore. Naomi followed the events of Knifehead closely and she can't even imagine what the loss of Yancy must have done to Raleigh. She may not have spent that much time with the brothers, but she always knew how close they were. At least this time, during Operation Pitfall, nobody died or was lost. The physical repercussions of that last mission are blatantly obvious, though. Raleigh looks exhausted. There's a bandage on his left upper arm, disappearing under the sleeve of the faded grey t-shirt he's wearing and peeking out again at the collar. His skin is discoloured all over his body, although the bruises seem to be fading. There are little cuts all over his face and arms, some of which look almost healed while others are still scabbed over. What catches her attention most is his right arm, though. There's no bandage around it, and the reddish-white scars that cover his entire arm are clearly visible. 

Naomi knows about the principle of circuitry scars and how they come to be, but she has never seen them in person. They're strangely beautiful. An intricate, almost artistic pattern that is still so very obviously technical in nature, showing the paths the circuits take in the drivesuit. She heard that drivesuit burns are intensely painful and take a long time to heal with the scars never disappearing, but she still can't help finding them beautiful.

Just then she notices a movement out of the corner of her eye and she sees Chuck Hansen step into her field of vision from where he was hidden outside of the glass panel before. He's talking to Raleigh, his posture relaxed and a teasing smile on his face as he gestures with the DVD box he's holding. Damn he's hot, Naomi thinks immediately. That's one hell of a killer smile. She finds it interesting the _his_ entire right arm is wrapped in a stark white bandage, and she remembers being told that he suffered circuitry burns, too. She wonders if they are an exact match to Raleigh's.

When she realises that she's staring Naomi shakes herself out of her musings and finally pushes down the handle after knocking on the door to alert the two men to her presence. Their heads turn around to face her when she enters the room and closes the door behind her.

"Hello, Raleigh." Naomi greets with a careful smile, suddenly nervous about how this interview will play out. Right now it could go either way.

"Hey Naomi. I heard you were around." He actually gives her a smile, and it eases her nervousness. She's not sure what she expected, but most scenarios included more or less open hostility. They didn't part ways on the best of terms, after all.

"You're here to interview us, aren't you?" Naomi's gaze flickers over to Chuck Hansen, whose voice actually _does_ hold a degree of hostility. Or maybe it's just his general dislike of journalists, she's heard stories about that from various colleagues. He's volatile, they all agree on that. But he can also be utterly charming if he wants to be. What you get always depends on his mood. Naomi is wary what _she'll_ get. Right now, he doesn't look overly pleased to see her. His entire posture speaks of tension, the complete opposite to the relaxed ease he held himself with when she watched him through the door. The smile is gone, too. Now he looks dangerous, but Naomi admits to herself that it actually makes him even more sexy.

"Chuck." Raleigh says with a raised eyebrow and Chuck throws him a quick glare but doesn't say anything. There seems to be an entire conversation in just that one glance.

Naomi watches the exchange with interest. What most people tend to forget around journalists is that not just the spoken word is communication. Looks, facial expressions, body language, circumstantial impressions, it all comes together to form one big picture. And what she's seeing here is that Chuck Hansen is protective of Raleigh. Very much so, and he's not as subtle about it as he probably thinks he is. Naomi wonders if he knows about her past with Raleigh, then she realises that he must - they're co-pilots, after all, they have drifted and shared memories. It would be naive to assume that he doesn't know every dirty little detail.

"Why don't you have a seat, Naomi?" Raleigh gestures at a chair that's standing next to the bed and Naomi takes him up on the offer. 

"Thanks." She says with another smile and takes out her notepad where she has a list of potential questions prepared.

Meanwhile Chuck drifts across the room until he comes to stand next to the bed, reasonably close to Raleigh, and leans with his hip against the bed frame. Naomi is well aware that he positioned himself between herself and Raleigh, and although he's not blocking their line of sight, it is an oddly protective gesture. Possessive, even. Naomi eyes Chuck unobtrusively and wonders if he did it on purpose or on instinct. She can't quite tell. 

When she pulls out her dictation machine, Naomi looks up in surprise when she suddenly hears Chuck snort with laughter. Raleigh is grinning widely at her, too. It takes her a moment to understand why.

"Oh my, the Weis got you good, didn't they?" Chuck says with a grin that's definitely gleeful and points at the admittedly pitiful device. Naomi isn't even sure it's still working considering that the brothers didn't mind taping over the microphone, too. She scraped that sticker off last night, but she's not sure it'll remedy the damage done.

"Aleksis Kaidonovsky warned me not to play poker with them." She admits sheepishly and can't help feeling embarrassed. "I didn't listen."

"You should have." Chuck admonishes with a raised eyebrow. 

Raleigh agrees with a smirk. "Yeah, when Aleksis gives advice, it's usually pretty sound."

"Especially concerning the Wei Tang brothers." Chuck adds with a smirk that's slightly mean. "He's had his share of experience with them."

"Yeah, I saw his cast." Naomi chuckles at the memory of that very individual piece of art on Aleksis Kaidonovsky's arm.

"They totally screwed with him." Chuck reasons. "He's too good a poker player to lose to them without them cheating."

Although it was on her expense, Naomi is relieved that the tension eases after their discovery of her mutilated dictation machine. She was a bit worried that Chuck Hansen might bite her head off at some point, but now he seems a bit more relaxed. Not exactly friendly yet, but not quite as aggressive anymore. It's a start. She can work with that.

"So, assuming my sorry excuse for a dictation machine still works, do you mind me recording our conversation?" She makes sure to show that she hasn't switched it on yet and waits for their approval before she does. 

Naomi decides to start easy with those two, she doesn't want the atmosphere to suddenly deteriorate again. She asks them to describe Operation Pitfall from their point of view because that's neutral ground, it won't make them uncomfortable like the more personal questions she plans to ask later on. About their injuries, for example. She knows people are fascinated by the circuitry scars, so she's hoping to get to those later, maybe find out some things to clear up a few rumours. She also wants to ask them about their perfect match connection that she learned about from Tendo when he explained the events of Operation Pitfall to her. How it was essential for the success of the mission that they'd had both attacking Jaegers piloted by perfect matches. She wants the thoughts of the actual pilots on this, too. 

Naomi sees her chance coming to address the perfect match thing as well as their injuries when they get to the final events of the attack on the Breach. She notices that both Raleigh and Chuck keep things short and rather bland when talking about the immediate aftermath of dropping into the Breach. Naomi knows from her introductory interview with Tendo that Raleigh initiated a core meltdown after he'd ejected Chuck in an escape pod, and that it took a while for Raleigh's own pod to finally reappear. She was given the rundown of their injuries and she learned that Raleigh was in a coma for a day or two. But all of that is nothing but cold, clinical facts. She wants the story behind it, because facts sell only so well without a story to make them come alive.

She decides to go for the easy part first. "So, how did you find out that you are a perfect match?"

"Coincidence, really." Chuck replies with a tiny smirk that Raleigh returns. She feels like there's a joke here that she's not in on. "Let's say we just hit it off right away."

"We were matched only a few days before Operation Pitfall." Raleigh explains. "It only happened because Miss Mori was injured during the double event and I suddenly needed a new co-pilot for Gispy."

Now, on to the next interesting question. "How does being a perfect match influence your experience of your partner's injuries? Does the connection make a difference?"

Chuck suddenly grits his teeth, and Naomi notices how Raleigh's hand immediately settles on his lower back as if trying to calm him. Or maybe comfort him, she isn't quite sure. All she knows is that Chuck looks ready to either punch her lights out or flee the room, and it's probably only Raleigh's touch keeping him from doing either. Naomi feels her neck prickle in unease.

It's Raleigh who answers, and his voice is carefully neutral. Okay, she hit a huge sore spot there, and she wasn't even aiming for it. "Over the ghost drift you get feelings, sensations, the odd image. It's stronger for perfect matches and doesn't fade with time, like it does for normally linked Ranger teams. That means that we experience each other's pain to a certain degree, because we're always connected. I may have been injured worse, but since I was in a coma for some time after the mission, I didn't really experience the worst things first hand."

"He died, okay?" Chuck blurts out, his voice not only angry, but also laced with a pain so profound that it makes her shiver involuntarily. His gaze is so intense that Naomi wants to look away, but she finds that she can't. There are goosebumps on her arms and she fears she might have bitten off more than she can chew. "It servers the connection. Imagine it like somebody cutting off all your limbs, crippling you to the point that you can't move anymore, can't think anymore, and then fills your head with phantom pain that never stops and that you can never ease, no matter what you do. Even that doesn't come close to what it feels like."

Naomi has to swallow hard against the lump in her throat. There are chills running down her back, from the description as well as the quiet intensity and the tangible pain in Chuck's voice. She knows there's nothing she can say to this that wouldn't be a mistake, so she decides to remain quiet for now.

It's Raleigh who saves the day. Or at least keeps Chuck from strangling her. She can't help noticing that his voice is not exactly friendly either, though. "What makes perfect matches unique is that their minds become one during the drift. Obviously that means that there's always a connection between them, even when they're not engaged in the neural handshake. If you take that away, it's like you cut off a part of their very being."

"As you may imagine, that's obviously rather painful." Chuck adds, and his voice is sharp with cynicism. It almost makes her flinch. Raleigh's hand is still drawing slow, soothing circles on Chuck's back and Naomi is sure she isn't imagining Chuck leaning into the touch. She wonders what he would be doing right now if Raleigh's touch wasn't there to keep him grounded. She'd probably be toast already. He does look scary when he's angry, and he's not exactly known for reining in his temper.

"So the experience would be different for normally linked teams?" Naomi forces her voice to sound normal, but she's aware that she doesn't quite manage. She hopes that this question will lead them away from the obviously very sensible topic of Raleigh dying. She didn't know about it, that's why she stumbled right into this mess. It was neither in Tendo's recounts nor in the list of Raleigh's injuries, or she would have treaded a bit more carefully.

Chuck tenses and instinctively bares his teeth at her at that question and Naomi knows she just managed to put her foot in her mouth again. This interview is turning from bad to worse pretty quickly. 

"From _personal experience_ ," Raleigh replies slowly, looking at her pointedly, "I can tell you that it's different, but not any easier."

Shit, Yancy! Of course! Okay, this question was phenomenally stupid, she sees that now very clearly. Naomi bites her lip and forces herself to look straight at Raleigh although she kind of wishes the ground would open up and swallow her _right now_. "I'm sorry, Raleigh. I didn't mean to stir up bad memories. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Raleigh holds her gaze for a moment that seems very long to her, then he gives her a short nod that lets her know he's not mad at her. She's amazed to see some of the tension also leave Chuck's body at her sincere apology as well as Raleigh's acceptance of it. She wonders if that is the connection they were talking about, that sharing of feelings that allows Chuck to know that Raleigh isn't angry at her and that somehow eases his own anger. It's a fascinating concept that she never thought about too much before. She definitely wants to do some more research about drifting and perfect matches. But better not with these two. She imagines her standing with them isn't the best after this disastrous interview.

Naomi tries to get back to less explosive topics to maybe save her interview from being a total catastrophe. After a few minutes Chuck slowly relaxes enough to sit down on the bed, although he keeps his feet on the ground as if he wants to be ready to jump up any moment. Raleigh's arm is wrapped around his waist by now, his hand resting securely on Chuck's hip. Naomi watches them unobtrusively while asking her less personal questions, and she's kind of mesmerised by how comfortable they are in each other's personal space. It's only now that she notices that the old, grey t-shirt Raleigh is wearing sports a faded print of Striker Eureka's logo on the left side. Chuck's Jaeger, not Raleigh's. Probably even Chuck's t-shirt, she can't help thinking. 

And suddenly she gets it. They're _together_. As in, they're a _couple_.

Wow. Now _that's_ news. 

It takes her a moment to overcome her surprise and concentrate on the interview again. Still, in her mind thoughts are running wild. Suddenly Chuck's hostility makes a lot more sense. He's not only protective of Raleigh, he actually dislikes her because of her history with him and Yancy. She wonders if he sees her as a threat to his and Raleigh's obviously still quite new relationship. It's an utterly unfounded suspicion, really, it was never much about Raleigh, anyway. Yancy has always been more her type. The tall, strong, quiet one. Although she has to admit that Raleigh does fit this description now way more than he did back then, he's still not her type. He's too nice. She likes bad boys. Not that Yancy was a typical bad boy, but he definitely had a few rough edges that his brother didn't have.

Naomi is still stunned by the realisation that the famous Rangers Chuck Hansen and Raleigh Becket are a couple. Then she thinks that maybe she shouldn't be. Naomi isn't stupid, she has spent enough time hanging around Rangers when she was a young and superficial Jaeger Fly to know that the bonds of Ranger teams can go very very deep, no matter if they're related or just happen to be compatible. Throw the perfect match factor into the mix and the relationship is bound to go even deeper. In fact, she remembers reading somewhere that all perfect matches - well, there are only a handful of them known - are couples. Looking at the Kaidonovskys and Chuck and Raleigh, she's ready to believe that immediately. There's a connection between them that she has never seen in anybody else.

Somehow Naomi manages to get through the rest of the interview without offending anybody again. She's on edge the entire time, though, careful about which questions she asks and how to phrase them. She doesn't want to kick off Chuck's anger again. He's way more agreeable and forthcoming when he doesn't feel the need to protect Raleigh. She gets the distinct impression that he doesn't particularly like her - not that she can hold it against him after her series of missteps - but he's making half an effort to be civil at least. She has an inkling that's Raleigh's doing, although she doesn't know how he does it. Chuck even shakes her hand when the interview is over, and she catches Raleigh hiding a smile when he sees it. Yep, definitely his doing.

Still, Naomi is glad it's over. She takes a deep breath when she's out of their room. This was by far the most difficult, most painful and most exhausting interview she's had. A quick glance at her watch tells her that she has the time to go over at least a part of her notes of the day before she's supposed to meet Newt and Dr Gottlieb. She showers before dinner and takes the time to dress up a bit - it's a birthday party, after all. She also wants to show that she's there as a guest and not a reporter. She thinks she deserves some fun and relaxation after that strenuous afternoon with Raleigh and Chuck. 

Since she doesn't really have a gift for Newt and doesn't have the opportunity to buy anything in the Shatterdome, Naomi decides to make a quick sketch of him and Dr Gottlieb as she remembers them sitting in front of her during their interview. She's once again glad that she's always been good at drawing. It comes in handy quite often. Pity that she doesn't carry her proper drawing equipment with her. She didn't think she'd need it for this contract. Well, she has three different pencils with her, they will have to do. 

Newt loves the drawing. The hug he gives her is spontaneous and heartfelt, and Naomi can't help feeling like he just accepted her into his weird group of friends. He drags her off to the table in the mess hall that's quite obviously reserved for his party and plants her smack in the middle of the Wei triplets before he runs off to show the drawing to Dr Gottlieb. It's by total chance that Naomi catches the approving gaze the introverted scientists sends her a few minutes later.

The evening gets longer than she expected. It seems that the K-Science section knows how to party. So do the Russian and Chinese Rangers. And they party hard. No matter their injuries. Naomi is impressed.

It's almost one in the morning by the time Naomi sits in front of her computer and transcribes the remaining notes and recordings that she didn't manage to finish that afternoon. She's not even tired because the evening was great fun and she's still a little drunk. She knows she can't go to bed without sorting through the day's findings, though, because she might risk losing something, forgetting something.

By two am she's staring at the screen, still wondering what format to chose to sell her information. She wants to write a series of articles, she decides then and there, each of which will concentrate on a different aspect of what she learned about the PPDC and its people in the past three days. She wonders how she's supposed to do all the things justice that she knows now. It seems like an impossible task, and no approach feels quite right. 

She sits up straight and begins to type, allowing the words to flow however they want. The alcohol still in her bloodstream definitely helps. She'll sort through the results later. She always did like a challenge, after all. 

It's four o'clock by the time she switches off the lights and goes to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist putting some Newt/Hermann in here... I hope you don't mind ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place the same day Stacker finally wakes up. Just a wee context info ^_^

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 20th 2025_

It's her last day, and Naomi wakes early so that she can go over all of her notes again before going to the mess hall for breakfast. She wants to make sure she asks any questions left unanswered, that there are no holes in her research she forgot to fill before she leaves tonight. She drinks four large cups of coffee during breakfast, her only concession to the very late last night. She's well aware that none of the other party guests show up for breakfast.

Naomi meets with Ms James afterwards to go over more formalities, then she's free to roam on her own. Naomi makes use of the opportunity to talk to the Jaeger crews involved in the attack on the Breach, from the J-Techs to the extraction crews, and then she speaks to some of the LOCCENT personnel whom she met when she was led around by Tendo. She doesn't only want to hear the story from the point of view of the big players, she wants all angles. 

At some point she comes across Tendo and joins him in LOCCENT, asking about the way communication between LOCCENT and the Jaegers differs from the new single-pilot Civilian Explorers. Marshal Hansen is in the communication centre when they enter and joins the conversation. Naomi listens carefully and makes quick notes on her notepad. She might just throw in an article about the technical stuff, it's absolutely fascinating.

"So this way we can..." Hansen suddenly falls silent, and Naomi looks up from her notepad to see why he stopped talking mid-sentence. There's a frown on his face and his gaze is unfocussed, lost in space.

"Herc?" Tendo asks, obviously equally surprised as Naomi. Hansen doesn't react, it's as if he hasn't even heard the word. 

"Herc?" Tendo tries again. "Herc, are you okay?"

Naomi watches the odd behaviour and wonders what's going on. It seems pretty out of character for Marshal Hansen, at least considering what she has seen of him in those past few days. He's usually a very focussed and sharp-minded person, and she has never seen him lose it like this.

Suddenly his head jerks around to Tendo, and Naomi sees his eyes are wide in what seems to be astonishment. 

"He's waking up." Hansen's voice is barely above a whisper, then he turns on his heel and runs - yes, literally _runs_ \- out of LOCCENT. Naomi stares after him with a bemused expression on her face that she sees mirrored not only in Tendo but also the personnel currently manning LOCCENT. 

"What was that about?" Naomi asks after a moment of stunned silence that seems to encompass the entire room.

Tendo is still staring at the door when he replies, his voice slightly disbelieving. "Seems Marshal Pentecost is coming out of coma."

When he turns to face Naomi, there's a big smile on his face. Naomi feels herself return it, the feeling of relief slowly spreading in her belly. She respects and really likes Marshal Pentecost. He may be a bit harsh on the outside, but he's a genuinely good person, she knew that ever since she first met him. It's good to hear that he's on the road of recovery, too. 

It's only when she's sitting in the mess hall eating lunch with Tendo that Naomi suddenly wonders how Hansen could have known that the Marshal was waking up. He was several storeys above them in the medical bay, and she knows that nobody contacted Hansen. He stood right in front of her, she knows he didn't get a message or a call. So how did he know?

Curiosity is a part of her very being, it's what makes her love her profession, and it kicks in full force now. She's missing a piece of the puzzle, she just knows it. And now that she found out about it, she wants to know _what_ she's missing. 

A visit. Yes, a visit to the Marshal would probably be the best way to find out what's going on. The question is how she'll manage to get access, and who to ask in order to be allowed on the med bay. She needs permission every single time she goes in - that's a bit over the top security, she can't help thinking - and the Marshal will be even better protected. She can't ask Hansen, first of all is he most likely _in_ the med bay and therefore out of her reach, and second, he looked like he had other things on his mind than a snooping journalist. 

So maybe she'll try Tendo, she muses while throwing him a glance over the table. She knows it's too early to ask now, though, she'll give it a few more hours. She's scheduled to leave at eight o'clock tonight on a chopper that'll bring her to the Hong Kong airport, so she still has a bit of time. If she asks to early, she surely will be refused. Let the first wave of action, of relief and hope calm down before she goes poking the bear.

Naomi makes good use of the next hours to talk with a few more people, then she retreats to her quarters to work through her notes and recordings of the day. It was quite informative to talk to the personnel who deal with the Jaegers and their pilots on a daily basis. She's glad she had the opportunity to do it before leaving. By six o'clock Naomi thinks she can dare starting her plot to see the Marshal. She has two hours before her chopper is scheduled to leave the Shatterdome, this is her last chance. She makes her way to LOCCENT first, hoping to find Tendo there.

She's glad she's right. Tendo is sitting at one of the stations going over some readings that don't mean anything to Naomi. She greets Tendo with a smile and inquires after Marshal Pentecost's condition. 

"He has woken up." Tendo's smile tells her even more than his words. "He's asleep again, but he's out of the worst."

"Have you seen him yet?" Naomi asks curiously.

Tendo nods. "A few hours ago."

"How is he?" She doesn't bother hiding her concern. It might even play in her favour.

"Astonishingly well, all things considered. When he was awake he was lucid. That's more than most of us expected." Tendo admits honestly, and it confirms what Naomi thought that first day: Not all of them were as confident as Hansen that Pentecost would actually regain consciousness.

"That's good to hear." Naomi smiles in honest relief. She had also wondered in what condition the Marshal would be if he ever actually woke up. She's glad to hear that he's doing well. "Do you think I could visit him? I'd like to see him before I leave."

"He has just woken up from a week-long coma, Naomi." Tendo says with a slight frown. She feels his protectiveness of the Marshal and knows she'll have to give him something before he'll even consider letting her into the Marshal's sickroom. "He's not ready to deal with the press."

"It's off the record. I won't mention a word of what happens in the sickbay in my article." Naomi looks at Tendo and tries to convey how serious she is. "I just want to see how he's doing. I value the Marshal greatly, I won't do him any harm."

So she won't be able to write about whatever it is she may - or may not - find out considering the Marshal and Hansen, but at least she can satisfy her curiosity. That'll have to do, then.

"Not a word gets published." Tendo repeats and holds her gaze firmly. "This is a friendly visit. As soon as you step in the med bay you're not a reporter."

"I promise." Naomi agrees, because she knows he won't budge if he has even the slightest doubt about her sincerity. He's loyal to the Marshal, Naomi knew that before, but now she understands that the leadership of the PPDC is more like a family than a team of co-workers. They'll protect each other - and right now, as a reporter, she's the threat.

"All right." Tendo turns to the computer terminal next to him and types something. "I just gave you clearance. The charge nurse knows you're allowed to go in."

"Thanks, Tendo." Naomi smiles at him. She is really glad to hear that the Marshal has woken up, and she's looking forward to seeing him. 

"Not a word." He admonishes with a raised eyebrow.

"Scout's honour." Naomi promises seriously, her hand placed over her heart. She means it. 

A few minutes later she's at the entrance to the med bay. The charge nurse is expecting her, but she still takes the time to check Naomi's credentials. The security of the med bay is paranoid even for the PPDC, Naomi thinks with a hidden roll of her eyes. She's still the same person she was yesterday, after all, and the nurse knows her. She doesn't complain, though. She knows it would be useless.

"Marshal Hansen is with him right now." The middle-aged nurse says quietly. Naomi nods in acknowledgement. She didn't expected anything else. She makes her way through the hallways again, but this time she has to pass a second nurse to get to the Marshal's room. She knew he would be well guarded.

When she gets to Pentecost's room, there's light coming through the glass panel that's typical for all doors in the med bay. Before Naomi can reach for the handle, her gaze flickers up to peek inside and she freezes on the spot, her gesture aborted mid air. Okay, so she knew there was something going on, but she didn't expect what she's seeing. Not _at all_. 

There are two bodies stretched out on the hospital bed. Hansen is plastered along Pentecost's side, his head resting on the Marshal's shoulder. Pentecost is lying under stark white sheets, Hansen rests on top of them, his boots discarded carelessly underneath the bed. Pentecost's hand - the one not stuck in a cast - is carding through Hansen's hair in a slow, soothing rhythm. They look utterly comfortable together, familiar and relaxed and at peace. Naomi is immediately reminded of Raleigh and Chuck, of Sasha and Alexis Kaidonovsky. 

It hits her with a vengeance. Stacker Pentecost and Herc Hansen are not only a couple - as if that in itself isn't already worth a story - no, they're a perfect match, too. She can see it, all those little telltale signs she picked up when talking to the other two perfect matches in the Shatterdome. Now that she has met the Ranger teams of Sasha and Alexis Kaidonovsky and Raleigh Becket and Chuck Hansen, she knows instinctively what a perfect match looks like. Hansen and Pentecost fit that description perfectly.

Of course! On her first day in the Shatterdome Tendo said that _both_ Jaegers were piloted by perfect matches. Obviously that means that Pentecost and Hansen have to be a perfect match, too, because they were the pilots of Striker Eureka. How could she have missed that before? It's not like anybody tried to hide it, she just didn't see the connection. She feels a bit sheepish for missing something that obvious. She's a reporter, she should notice clues like that. It's her job, after all.

Naomi pulls back from the door into the shadows of the hallways to regain her composure. It won't do to look like the excited journalist she is at heart when she goes in that room. She promised not to write a word about what she sees here, and she won't. Now she just has to look the part, too.

A few deep breaths later Naomi knocks on the door and gives them a few seconds before entering. It's not her intention to walk in on them or embarrass them in any way, so she makes sure to take a moment or two before she goes in. Hansen is sitting up in the bed while Pentecost is still lying back, and they're both looking attentively at the door. As soon as he recognises her, Naomi sees Hansen tense. Although he doesn't obviously move, it feels like he's positioning himself protectively in front of the Marshal's figure stretched out in the hospital bed. No matter the healing injuries that are still visible all over his body, Hansen looks somehow fierce, threatening and carefully controlled at the same time. It's a look Naomi remembers only too well from her encounter with his son. Seems to run in the family.

Naomi smiles reassuringly at him and shakes her head gently. "I'm here as a friend, not a reporter. I'm off duty right now."

She holds up her empty hands to show that she carries neither a notepad nor a recording device. She meant what she said, she won't publish a word of what she experiences in the Marshal's sickbay room. She respects him and Hansen too much for that, and she knows not to betray the fragile trust the PPDC offers her. 

"How are you, Marshal?" Naomi asks when she comes to stand beside the bed, next to where Hansen is sitting halfway on the edge of the mattress, still kind of shielding Pentecost. "It's good to see you awake."

"Miss Sokolov." Pentecost's voice is still rough from disuse, and she can hear the fatigue in every word. His eyes are clear and alert, though, and that somehow makes her feel better. "I heard you were tasked with the interviews of the pilots."

Naomi smiles warmly. "Don't worry, Marshal, I'm not here to interview you. I just want to see for myself that you're okay before I leave."

He doesn't look okay, but she figures that depends on your point of view. Considering what he went through and that he was in a coma until a few hours ago, he probably looks really good. His left arm is in a cast, just like Hansen's right one. There are bandages and bruises covering what little she can see of his arms and his face, the rest of him and his injuries is hidden by the sheets. She noticed that there are circuitry scars above the cast, but they look old and healed. All in all, she guesses, he could look worse.

"I'm as well as I can be, given the circumstances." He replies, watching her attentively. "Thank you for asking, Ms Sokolov."

"It's the least I could do." Naomi says seriously. "You did a lot for us, Marshal. For the world. We owe every single member of the PPDC more than we can ever hope to repay."

"Thank you, Ms Sokolov." Naomi sees how Hansen suddenly relaxes and then gives her one of his easy smiles. It's still as attractive now as it was on the first day she met him. "It means a lot that somebody actually sees it."

"I do see it. I saw it every time I spoke to somebody in the past four days." Naomi replies sincerely. "And I'll help the world see it, too. If I manage to do that, then I did my job right."

"It's good to know you feel that way." Pentecost acknowledges with something that might even be considered a smile.

"I hope you get better soon, Marshal." Naomi offers before she says her goodbyes and walks to the door. She stops when she's almost through and turns back one last time. "It was a pleasure seeing you awake. I know it means a lot to everybody here to have you back."

Naomi doesn't miss the way Pentecost swallows heavily and Hansen smirks behind him, giving her a nod that says 'thanks for telling him that' as clearly as if he had actually spoken the words. Naomi returns the nod and then closes the door behind her. She knows the Marshal isn't one to openly acknowledge feelings, and she doesn't mean to embarrass him. She just wants him to know what she's learned those past few days: that he's the heart of the PPDC and that he means a lot to people. Him waking up will definitely boost morale.

Naomi goes to the mess hall for a quick dinner once she has left the med bay. Newt spots her as soon as she enters and waves her over. She doesn't have much time left, but dinner is still a pleasant affair. Dr Gottlieb doesn't glare at her once, and she counts that as a win. He even offers her his hand when she says goodbye. Newt is not nearly that restrained, he pulls her into a quick but heartfelt hug and tells her to look him up if she's ever in Alaska, where they'll be moving next. 

Packing up her things doesn't take long. Naomi is used to travelling for her job, and over the years she became very good at travelling light. Tendo is waiting for her outside her room and walks her to the helipad when it's time for her to leave. They talk quietly all the way to the chopper, and Tendo offers her another warm and friendly handshake when it's time to part ways. Naomi gives him a real, heartfelt smile and thanks him not only for arranging this job for her, but also for the great time she had in the Shatterdome. She asks him to say goodbye to everybody on her behalf and then steps into the chopper.

Five minutes later the chopper lifts off the landing pad and Naomi looks back at the Shatterdome that slowly vanishes in the distance, the huge structure suddenly tiny and inconspicuous. She is surprised to realise that she is indeed sad to leave. She looks at her notepad and can't help smiling when she sees the large I-love-Crimson-Typhoon sticker that is covering it diagonally. She'll miss the rag-tag family that is the PPDC.

She knows there are a few things she learned that she won't mention in her articles, and it has nothing to do with the fact that Ms James might edit them out. She feels like it's not her place to tell. She's sure it'll come out sooner or later anyway - it's not like either Pentecost and Hansen or Chuck and Raleigh did anything to hide their relationships - but she won't be the one shouting it from the rooftops. It's up to them to do that, on their own time. They'll have plenty of opportunity for that with the upcoming promotional tour Ms James mentioned.

Instead Naomi will tell the public about the many men and women who make up the PPDC, from the LOCCENT officer to the J-Tech, from the scientist to the Ranger, from the cook to the Marshal. She'll write about the double event and Operation Pitfall, about the price the pilots paid for their service to the world, about the energy the PPDC puts in keeping up the defences of the planet against an alien invader species. 

And she'll do her best to do them justice. All of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, this was very long, even for me. There was just so much to tell! I liked slipping into an outsiders POV, it was interesting to look at our Shatterdome-family with a stranger's eyes. I hope you enjoyed getting a bit of all the players in this fic ^^ Comments are love and you'll make me very happy if you leave me one - no matter how tiny! *offers cookies and tea*


End file.
